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Business Recorder
13 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Bridging the gender gap
EDITORIAL: Pakistan's position at the bottom of the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap for 2025, ranked 148th out of 148 countries, underscores systemic biases vis-a-vis gender equality. Our parity score of 56.7 percent has regressed for the second consecutive year from 57.7 percent in 2023, depicting a concerning trend of stagnation and decline in four key areas. Pakistan is placed 147th in economic participation and opportunity, 137th in educational attainment, 131st in health and survival, and 118th in political empowerment. The Index is an important reminder of entrenched gender disparities that permeate all aspects of this society. Economic landscape in this patriarchal culture remains deeply gendered. Women constitute only 36 percent of the economic participation with a mere 23 percent representation in the formal workforce. They make significant contribution to the agriculture sector, though their work remains largely undocumented and excluded from the WEF's report. The gender wage gap is particularly stark, with women earning 18 percent less than men for equivalent work. While agriculture accounts for 68 percent of employed women, an estimated 76 percent of them work without pay compared to 24 percent of men. Income disparity slightly increased last year (.2 percent) as did perceived wage inequality (4 percentage points). Besides, very few females hold managerial positions, and are treated unfairly in postings and promotions. As regards education, Pakistan registered the sole sub-index advance with the parity going up by 1.5 percentage points to reach 85.1 percent overall. While the female literacy rate has improved male enrolment shares have dropped in tertiary education, creating a relative gender balance but for the most part lowering attainment standard. We have made some progress in closing the gender gap in healthcare, yet issues remain. Our maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the world, and access to reproductive health services is very limited. Issues, such as these, are compounded by societal norms which undervalue women's health and well-being. Meanwhile, women's representation in the political sphere is marginal. Although women have 33 percent reserved seats in the assemblies, only those get elected — rather selected — who are either related or known to major political figures. Consequently, genuine women's voices are often absent from critical decision-making processes, perpetuating policies that fail to address needs of a vast majority of the female population. While there are some isolated instances of progress, they are grossly insufficient to counterbalance the systemic barriers suppressing gender equality. Achieving that goal requires comprehensive reforms, including effective enforcement of relevant laws, public sensitisation to gender issues, and policies that promote women's economic and political empowerment. Only through sustained policy actions can Pakistan bridge the gender gap, ensuring a future of fairness for all. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
News.com.au
14-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Australia jumps in global World Economic Forum ranking for closing the gender gap
Australia has recorded its best ever gender equality ranking in a major global report, but the government is being warned not to rest on its laurels. After placing 24th last year in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report, Australia has jumped 11 places and is now 13th out of 148 countries. It is Australia's best result since the report began in 2006 and a far cry from our country's record low 50th place in 2021. The ranking jump is attributed to improvements in female political empowerment, economic participation and educational attainment. Australia ranked well in education, with joint first in literacy rate, primary education enrolment and university enrolment. Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said it was a 'fantastic result' for Australia. 'When the Albanese Labor Government was first elected in 2022, we said that improving the lives of women and girls was one of our key focuses, and today's result – our best ever – shows we are delivering on that commitment,' Senator Gallagher said. 'Whether it is investing in women's wages and economic opportunities, investing in sexual and reproductive healthcare, or investing in policies to address women's safety and tackling gender-based violence, our government is backing up words with action.' Parenthood chief executive Georgie Dent celebrated the 'meaningful' changes by the government, but called on them to continue the 'significant work' still to do on measures such as parental leave. 'These results show us that government policy can and does make a tangible difference in achieving the goal of true gender equity and they underscore the need for us to go further,' Ms Dent said. 'We're calling on the Albanes Labor Government to build on this progress by increasing paid parental leave entitlement to 52 weeks at replacement wage, with superannuation included – bringing us in line with international best practice.' Ms Dent also called on the government to cement its promised universal childcare reforms. 'These measures will bring us closer to achieving true gender equity in Australia and in doing so will improve outcomes for children, boost workforce participation, support families and strengthen communities and our economy,' Ms Dent said. Senator Gallagher acknowledged there would still be more work to come, but insisted the result showed that the Albanese government was 'shifting the dial'. 'We know there is always more work to do, and this report will help to inform our work on gender equality over the next three years,' she said.
Scroll.in
12-06-2025
- Business
- Scroll.in
India falls two spots on 2025 Global Gender Gap index to 131
India has fallen two spots to rank 131 out of 148 countries on the World Economic Forum's 2025 Global Gender Gap index. In 2024, India had ranked at the 129th place out of 146 countries on the index, while it was at 127 in 2023. In 2020, India had ranked 112 among 153 countries. The countries are ranked based on scores across four main subindices – economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. In its report released on Wednesday, the World Economic Forum stated that India had an overall parity score of 64.1%, making it one of the lowest-ranked countries in South Asia. The country saw a relative drop in rankings compared to the previous year due to the performance of other economies, it added. However, India's overall performance improved in absolute terms by +0.3 points, the report said. 'One of the dimensions where India increases parity is in economic participation and opportunity, where its score improves by +.9 percentage points to 40.7%,' the World Economic Forum added. The report said that while most indicator values remained the same, parity in estimated earned income rose from 28.6% to 29.9%, which positively impacted the subindex score. Scores in the labour-force participation rate remained the same at 45.9%, duplicating India's highest level achieved to date, the report said. 'In educational attainment, India scores 97.1%, reflecting positive shifts in female shares for literacy and tertiary education enrolment, which result in positive score improvements for the subindex as a whole,' the World Economic Forum stated. 'India also records higher parity in health and survival, driven by improved scores in sex ratio at birth and in healthy life expectancy,' it added. 'However, similar to other countries, parity in the latter is obtained despite an overall reduction in men's and women's life expectancy.' The report said that female representation in Parliament fell from 14.7% last year to 13.8% in 2025, and that the share of women in ministerial positions fell from 6.5% to 5.6%. In June 2024, India had elected 74 MPs to the 18th Lok Sabha, which was marginally lower than in 2019 when 78 women became members of the Lower House of Parliament. As per the index, Bangladesh emerged as the best performer in South Asia, jumping 75 spots to rank 24 overall due to notable gains in political empowerment and economic participation. Nepal ranked 125, Sri Lanka at 130, Bhutan at 119, Maldives at 138 and Pakistan at 148. Globally, Iceland leads the rankings for the 16th year in a row. This was followed by Finland, Norway, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. However, the report noted that full parity remained 123 years away at current rates.
Associated Press
26-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
ON Partners' 2025 Women's Report Reveals the Pay Gap Between Executive Men and Women Continues to Narrow
CLEVELAND, March 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ON Partners, a pure-play retained executive search firm building diverse C-level and board leadership teams, has released its 2025 Women's Report in honor of Women's History Month. The report, which analyzes over 1,000 senior-level executive searches over the last few years within ON Partners' proprietary database, shows the gap between executive men and executive women's compensation is narrowing and women are gaining ground in senior leadership (SVP) roles. The World Economic Forum's June 2024 Global Gender Gap research study found that in North America, it will take 106 years for women to achieve economic parity with men. ON Partners' research shows a better outlook in the executive suite. The Report revealed that the average total compensation for executive women was $457k compared to executive men's average of $486k. The $29k difference comes in lower than last year's difference of $36k. In addition, compensation for both men and women increased in 2024, with women's compensation increasing at a higher rate than men's. A notable finding is that while the compensation gap continues to narrow, women come in lower than men on total compensation often due to lower bonuses and sign-on bonuses. 'It is important for women to evaluate their total compensation package, not just their guaranteed base salaries,' said Tara Flickinger, partner at ON Partners. 'Companies are unlikely to offer a sign-on bonus unless there is an ask from the candidate in the negotiation process and the same is true on bonus potential. The latter is crucial because asking for an increase in performance-based compensation signals a candidate is betting on herself, which is music to hiring managers' ears.' The top senior-level placements of CEO and COO still have a wide disparity with women appointments coming in at 8.1% and 9.1%, respectively. However, a positive trend is that senior leadership roles (SVP level), which are often a pipeline to the C-Suite, show women getting about 25% of the placements with total compensation being slightly higher than their male counterparts. 'The trendline of more women in pipeline roles is not at all surprising,' said Bryan Buck, managing partner at ON Partners. 'The investment in talent development over the last decade is continuing to show exponential returns – not just with more women in positions of leadership today, but in the path they're creating for the next generation that's having a compounding effect. Women today aren't just leading by example, they're bringing it to life for those who are up next.' Other findings include: The CFO role is one in which women are making strides in compensation. Women are just above 20% of CFO placements, and their total compensation is higher with an average of $450k vs. $440k. Women are making strides in tech roles, which have traditionally favored male executives. Among the CTO and CITO positions ON Partners has placed over the past two years, the top earners have been female executives. Chief Product Officer (CPO) compensation is also very comparable between men and women. 'The CIO and CTO functions have historically been highly technical, requiring deep engineering expertise, but these roles have evolved,' said Nina McMaster, partner at ON Partners. 'Today, these leaders are viewed not just through a technical lens, but as business-critical positions requiring leadership, strategy, communication, and the ability to collaborate across departments. Companies are recognizing that a diverse leadership team brings better decision-making and business outcomes. The result is more negotiating power for women when moving into these positions.' About ON Partners Established in 2006, ON Partners is the only pure-play executive search firm building diverse C-level and board leadership teams. We rebuilt the institution of executive search for the way you work, with an approach that includes present partners who engage with clients from the first brief to the final decision, individually crafted solutions unique to each client, and an easier experience overall. Named by Forbes as one of America's Best Executive Recruiting Firms and to the Inc. 500/5000 List nine times, ON Partners is consistently ranked among the top 20 retained executive search firms in the U.S. Media Contact Jennifer Greene
Khaleej Times
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Pair sues Japanese university over 'no married couples' rule
A couple who both worked at a Japanese university have sued the institution, a court said on Thursday, for reportedly allowing only the husband to keep an academic position after they were married. Despite its highly educated female population, Japan is ranked 118th out of 146 in the 2024 World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap report and women leaders remain rare in Japanese business and politics. The husband, a law professor, informed the dean at Miyazaki Sangyo-keiei University in southern Japan when they married in July, the Asahi Shimbun and other local media outlets said Wednesday. However, the dean "expressed discomfort and told him that the woman's job contract would be suspended at the end of March", the Asahi said, citing the unidentified couple's lawyer. The university said there was an unwritten rule that two spouses should not work there because it was a small institution, public broadcaster NHK said. Miyazaki District Court confirmed the lawsuit was filed against the university and the dean last month. A spokesman for the university told AFP that there had been "a grave violation of the rules" by the couple but declined to comment further, citing privacy concerns. The couple even chose to file for divorce in an attempt to keep their jobs in the university's law faculty, according to local broadcaster UMK. Even then the man was demoted to associate professor while the woman, an assistant professor, was made a clerical official, UMK reported. "I felt I had been demanded to choose between marriage and career," the woman said in television footage that did not show her face. "I'm very sad and quite indignant that the only university in this region that has a law faculty, and that touts recruitment of female students and their career support, can unfairly deprive a female teacher of her job and sense of fulfilment," she said. The couple are seeking the reinstatement of their former positions.
